Drug Enforcement Administration

Bakersfield Man Charged With Manufacturing Hashish Oil In His Home

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Following the arrest earlier today of August Davison, 26, of Bakersfield, an indictment has been unsealed charging him with maintaining a drug-involved premises, conspiracy, and manufacturing and distributing marijuana in the form of hashish oil.

According to court documents, from approximately January 2014 to April 2015, Davison manufactured hashish oil, a concentrated form of marijuana, in a (THC) extraction laboratory at his residence using a potentially combustible method. Separately, at a local Bakersfield business, Davison grew marijuana plants from which he manufactured some of the hashish oil that he made. Davison distributed the hashish oil in Kern County.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bakersfield Police Department, the Kern County Sherriff’s Office and personnel from the DEA’s Western Regional Lab. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Davison faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

THC extraction laboratories are a public safety hazard and have resulted in numerous explosions and injuries. According to the California Drug Endangered Children Training and Advocacy (DEC-TAC), from December 2010 until April 6, 2015, 441 THC extraction laboratories were located in California; 291 in 2014 and 53 during the first three months of 2015. DEC-TAC reports children were present at 72 THC extractions laboratories found during this 4.5-year period, resulting in the injury of 12 and the death of three children. Further, during this same time frame, DEC-TAC reports 140 adults were injured and 41 adults died as a result of THC extraction laboratory explosions.